Nothing wrong with the HD course, apart from the cost. They cover the same info as the MSF course so you'll be good to go with your endorsement.

The main difference is that with MSF, you'll be on a 250cc bike, and with HD, you'll be on a much bigger Harley.

If you're a full sized adult, or just really tall, trying to ride a 250 to learn on can be problematic.

I did the course through the local sheriff. Had a a guy in my class that was 6'5" and they put him on a 250 Suzuki. His knees were hitting the handlebars. He managed to get through the course, but every time I looked at him, I pictured "Grape Ape" on a tricycle.

Day 2 Update
Well, had a pretty decent day. It was just hotter n' hell. I'm glad we started at 7 or it would've been even worse.

We did 8 exercises. First they explain it, then they ride it, then you do it. Each exercise is practiced for about 30 minutes. We started out "powerwalking" the bike to get a feel for the clutch's friction zone. Then we quickly moved to picking the feet up and riding. We did start/stop drills, pause "stops" like you might use in slow traffic, etc. I enjoyed shifting and breaking, though I have to admit that's the one area I goofed. I was first up for the breaking exercise and after I got the thumbs up for a good job I release the clutch like a moron and stalled. No idea why I did it. At least it was the only time. There were a couple of guys around me stalling constantly.

I can use some work on the offset cone drill. My weaving wasn't that great. I think I was watching the cones and not looking ahead. No, I know I was. I never had any skids. My turns were pretty decent.

I was ready for it to be done, though. I was drinking a lot of water at each break but the Florida sun was cooking us. I ended up with a headache and I was pretty red by the time we finally ended. I was ok until the last exercise. Tomorrow should be cloudy and it'll be a shorter day on the range.

I'm a little concerned. The slow drills give me pause and I'm not looking forward to trying to turn figure 8's in a 20' box. I guess we'll just see how it goes and hope for the best. Fingers crossed. 

Good luck!

Thanks Deej!

Sounds exactly like the MSF Course.

I'm sure they'll tell you over and over in the class, but I'll tell you ahead of time; Look where you want to go for the figure 8s. Most people, including myself, don't turn their heads enough. Turn your head and look where you want to go, and the bike will go there. It really works, but took me a couple tries to actually execute it, despite knowing exactly what I needed to do.

Well, our first 2 runs for the figure 8 were in a 25' box, second 2 were the 20' box. My first go, I actually aced it, and unintentionally stayed within the 20' box. The instructor waves me by and says "Show off!" and laughs. Then what did I do on my next run? Botched it all up and put a foot down.

"Look where you want to go". They said it a million times. It works, but can be hard to force yourself to do, when it comes to really turning your head to do it.

l appreciate it the tips. They did tell me to turn my head more once. Now that I've thought about it a little more I did have more gaffs. On one of the braking drills I started stopping before the cones. I also only used two fingers on the front brake.

Considering I've been on a bike exactly once in my life where I was in control and that was at least 25 years ago I figure I did ok.

They told us the same thing about the box size. Seems awfully small. 

Yeah, they'd likely never stop nagging me these days about that one.
(Heck, I run shorty brake levers on my sporty bikes.)

It can be done with a Goldwing. Don't worry about it.

Day 3 Update
Well, today I think I really psyched myself out. I thought I was doing the U-turns ok but the guy behind me said I kept looking at the ground. I tapped the ground more than once in the tighter box. Apparently I also missed an instruction for the swerve skill. They'd been raising their arms to indicate which way to swerve and I was heading towards the "obstacle", no arms were raised, and I just blew through the the cones. My mind never said to just pick a direction.  He looked at me when I stopped and said, "WTF was that?" Apparently I missed that we were only supposed to go right.

I felt pretty good about the swerving aside from that gaff and was doing a lot better with my tight perimeter turns. I have to admit that I wasn't feeling good about the final test at all. Until they told us since U-turns in the US are only to the left and that we'd only be making one not two. w00t!

So we started the final and, of course, the U-turn that I now felt confident about (since it was only the second turn giving me trouble) ended up being the only place I lost points. I tapped the ground and it cost me 5 points. 

I didn't know this until we got back to take the written. I'm happy to say that I aced that. And while I didn't nail the U-turn like I'd hoped, I was praised for my braking (stopped in just 7'). In the end, I PASSED!

The instructors did a great job and I would have no problem recommending the course.

Finally, by the time I got out of the shower after getting home, the sales guy at the dealership had already left me a message. 

Thanks JaxShooter!

Sure thing, Deej.

The final was a lot easier than I thought. I just let myself get too worked over the one skill. There really wasn't anything too challenging. One thing I didn't mention is that after wrapping up the last skill you do a final skill drill pulling everything together so you have one last run through everything you did both days.

PSA: Have good gloves. I seem to have worked up a blister on my left thumb. Probably too much friction using the clutch so much.

As an aside, we racked up about 16-17 miles over the course of the two days.

If you haven't signed up yet, do it! It's a blast!

I took the MSF here in NY. There was maybe 7 of us total in the class and we used small Yamaha cruisers. Id never been on a bike before and did pretty well. Also I'm not sure how HD does there's but you do you roadtest as part of the course.

Also if you can manage Id suggest doing it on a overcast/cool day. I did mine end of July and it was pushing 90-100 both days and it was miserably hot being on a black top parking lot with no wind in full gear.

Jaxshooter pretty much nailed what my MSF course was. Also the nice thing is you for your final you get a second(or more) chance. Not sure if you would if you just go through the DMV or HD course.

Excellent points. We were in the 90s here with bluebird skies. Even starting at 7am didn't help much. I was usually ok until the last part of the day. That may have played into my gaff with the u-turn. By the final I was close to overheating despite staying well hydrated. Even one of the instructors was beet red. I used one of those chill towels to cool down between sessions but it only lasted so long. Sitting on a hot bike in the baking sun wears on you.

I believe you have 60 days to retest either the written or riding portion. You can't retest the same day. We had a guy who must've failed the riding because he wasn't with us for the classroom portions.